Meetings at the Edge
by CelticPuzzleStrangerRanger
Summary: i suck at summaries, but basically, without giving too much away, a new person enters the team's live's and change them forever...
1. Prologue

**Meetings at the Edge**

**By: Me (who else do you think wrote this?)**

**A/N- uuuummmmmmm... this is my first NCIS fic. Flames are accepted (and maybe encouraged... ). And... umm... yea, I think that's all... ENJOY!**

Prologue

"_No one... takes my agent," Gibbs told the small squirming man, shoving him against the wall by the collar of his shirt._

"_And no one," he growled, pressing his arm up so the other man couldn't breathe._

"_No one!" he was pressing so hard now that the other man was a good six inches off the ground._

"_Takes my goddaughter you son of a bitch!" Gibbs threw the man to the ground. _

"_Kate!" he barked as the man scuttled toward the door. Though Kate was already there, pushing her foot down on the man's chest. The more than frightened man quickly surrendered his hands already above his head. _

"_Feel free to shoot him if he so much as moves!"_

"_Gladly," she hissed, her gun already trained on its target. Gibbs moved down the hall, opening door after door, McGee at his back. Most of the small rooms contained a pantry, 2 twin beds (the one on the far side of the room usually being a bunk), and another door the led to an extremely small bathroom (containing a small square shower, a toilet and a sink). Gibbs kept knocking down doors only to find empty rooms. _

_Finally, Gibbs knocked down a door, peered inside, and found what he'd been looking for, for the past 4 months. In the twin bunk on the far side, in the deepest corner, was Tony. And in his arms, thank the lord, in his arms, there was Holly. Her back was turned to him but the look on Tony's face was enough to know that they were ok, now that he was there. Tony let his body relax and his grip loosen on the sleeping Holly in his arms. She sighed and unknowingly burrowed deeper into his chest, just as she had done so many times that long 2 years ago. Tony turned his attention to Holly and rubbed her back. _

"_Hey Holls," he whispered. She stirred_

"_What's a' matter?" she asked softly. _

"_I got a Christmas present for ya," he told her, sitting up more, pushing the light cover off with his feet. She smiled into his shirt. _

"_Oh yea?_

"_Yep."_

"_What's 'at?"_

"_Gibbs is here," he whispered. At 'Gibbs' her small body stiffened and her breathing stopped. There was a pause. _

"_That's not funny in the slightest, Tony," she told him seriously. Another short pause. _

"_It's not a joke Hol. He's here," he told her, softly as before, but seriously as she had spoken. She was still for a moment, then turned around and looked at Gibbs. She kept her eyes locked with his as she slowly rose from the bed to stand in front of him. She stood there for an agonizingly long time. Then, as if seeing wasn't enough to believe, her hand reached up and the back of her cold, shaking fingers brushed Gibbs cheek. As Tony watched he could see tears in Gibbs eyes that just refused to fall. Suddenly, Holly jumped up and fastened her arms around Gibbs neck. He dropped the weapon that hung loosely at his side and wrapped his arms around Holly to hold her sobbing, trembling figure. _


	2. 26 Months Prior

**Meetings at the Edge**

**By: Me (who do you think wrote this?)**

**Disc: I don't own NCIS……. or do I?...**

**A/N: thanks to all my reviewers! And I'm sorry I confused u Katie….all will explain it's self in due time…**

Chapter 1: 26 Months Prior…

Gibbs cell rang and he answered it.

"Gibbs." He heard a choked, strangled sob before the line was disconnected. Or was it a laugh? He couldn't tell. It was to short and quiet for him to know.

"Get back to work! I didn't know we had a recess!" he barked when he looked up to find his team starring at him expectantly. They all got back to work quickly without question. Abby waltzed purposefully into the bullpen - which was a rarity – and stopped in front of Gibbs desk. They both looked at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Gibbs, being a tired ex-marine working on a pathetically boring case that his gut had already solved, broke the silence impatiently.

"Well?" Abby smiled at getting what she wanted and hurriedly gave Gibbs the information _he_ wanted.

"Well… you can officially arrest Commander Pierson for the murder of two privates, a lieutenant, and a gunnery sergeant. The three bullets matched and, according to the Duckman, were all strategically shot in the same place," she finished with using her hand as a gun and pointed her fingers to the side of her head and pretended to pull the trigger.

"Pow."

"Let's go!" Gibbs grabbed his gun from his drawer and slid a king-size Hershey bar out of a stack of reports while Tony, Kate, and McGee did the same. As he walked past he handed it to her and muttered.

"Dr. Dew slushy on me." (A/N- Dr. Dew slushy being my idea of the 'caffeine crap' –as Gibbs put it- that's always in Abby's cup.) Abby made quick work of the top half of the wrapper and tossed it into Gibbs trash can. As McGee walked past, she slipped him a piece.

"I saw that!" Gibbs said as McGee ate it.

"Be careful bossman!" Abby returned all smiles on her way down to autopsy to share her prophet with Ducky.

The car ride was completely silent, except for the "Watch out!" or "Slow down!" 's every now and then from Kate, and they were soon in front of a dumpy looking apartment building. Just as Gibbs put his cell on vibrate it started buzzing. Wasting no time, he answered it.

"Gibbs." There was a sniffle before again, the line was disconnected. He quickly glanced at the caller ID (which he had discovered the day before with the help of his forensic specialist). It read 'Richard Mallory'. He vaguely wondered why Rich was calling him on the job... wasn't Rich on call this week? He dismissed the thought when he saw his team waiting.

"Come on," he growled, starting up the long descending stairs. Then, having an idea, he stopped again.

"McGee, DiNozzo! Guard the elevator!" he commanded tersely. He continued up the stairs, body language showing no brooking of an argument. Kate flashed Tony a mocking smile and followed him. Soon they were at the door of apartment C12. Gibbs knocked.

"Commander Pierson? NCIS, open up!" their weapons already drawn as if expecting an ambush. Gibbs pounded on the door again, ready to break it down if necessary.

"Commander Pier—" he didn't finish his sentence because of the first gunshot.

**A/N- I know, another short chap, I'll try writing longer ones in the future, but I'm not making any promises! **

**Sakura**


	3. Introduction

Chapter 3

Sorry it's been so long. Here's a little update =]

The team was back at headquarters. After the first gunshot, there was no choice but to go in guns blazing. In the end, Commander Pierson had been gunned down before the other half of the team could make it to the room for backup. Kate was harboring guilt, but that would never change. She had done her job well, and that was that.

Tony was upset that he had missed the action, but McGee seemed almost pleased. As the newest member of the team, he was still unsure of his role. He would learn in time, but for now they all had to deal with his insecurities on a daily basis.

Gibbs phone hadn't rung again, though he had an odd feeling in his gut that something wasn't right. They had solved the case, were finishing the paperwork, the day was over. But somehow he had a feeling that something was terribly amiss. He looked around at his team again, already knowing that they were all fine, but needing to push down his feeling of wrongness. He stood up, feeling restless. Maybe that was all it was, restlessness. Gibbs walked out of the bullpen without a word.

"Everything okay, boss?" Tony asked, not missing a thing. Kate and McGee looked up expectantly, but Tony was always on the very top of his game, no matter how inattentive he appeared to be. Gibbs didn't say a word, didn't even glance back. He pressed the down button on the elevator and waited. It arrived and as he stepped in he could hear his team whispering to each other. They were like children most days, knowing when to work, but mostly just playing the sibling game when daddy wasn't there to watch.

The elevator came to the ground floor and Gibbs stepped off, heading to the exit. There was some commotion with the security at the entrance, and Gibbs paused before passing. There was a young woman trying to bring her dog in with her, though the dog seemed big enough for her to ride. It looked entirely too familiar, that dog.

"Everything alright, officer?" Gibbs asked the security guard arguing with the woman. They both turned to Gibbs, and he recognized the woman instantaneously.

"Holly? What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"I… I needed to talk to you," she said shakily. Her face was pink with frustration and her eyes were puffy. The dog sat beside her patiently, still and obedient as ever.

"Pike, I can take this from here," Gibbs informed the security officer. He nodded and back into his office grudgingly, knew better than to second guess Special Agent Gibbs. The agent in question looked back at the woman, making a motion for her to follow. Back to the elevator they stood side by side silently.

"Abby's lab okay?" he asked. He looked over and saw her nodding beside him. He wondered at her loss of words, but made no comment as they entered the elevator and pressed the desired button.

"Its bowling night," the young woman said quietly. Gibbs knew she meant tonight was the night Abby had her bowling night with her nun friends, but that was fine. He had a feeling he would need to speak to Holly alone.

The elevator opened and they walked out and stepped into the lab together, the dog faithfully followed her master and nosed her hanging palm. Holly reached in her pocket for a treat and gave it to the fluffy beast that delightedly slopped it up. The young woman stayed silent, walking distractedly over to Abby's desk, picking through the personal belongings of the scientist.

"Something you wanna tell me Hol's?" Gibbs asked gently, feeling out her strained emotions. She fumbled and dropped something from the desk, her back to him. He walked over and picked up the small fuzzy octopus from the ground, handing it to her. After another moments silence she took a breath.

"Did you hear about that fire, just outside College Park this morning?" she asked shakily, picking a stray fuzzy from the octopus.

"Yeah, on 54th, north of the airport. Heard it was a bad one. Couple of casualties…" Gibbs trailed off, sensing where this might be heading, but not wanting to continue if his gut was right. He stared at the octopus in Holly's hands intently, thinking maybe he'd nodded off at his desk. It had been a long day, it had been a long case, he was tired and just needed to wake up and this nightmare would turn out to be just that: a nightmare.

"Daddy's unit responded to it. Um," Holly coughed on a sob. "I guess he went in, there was somebody trapped inside. The building collapsed before they made it out," she managed to choke out before the tears came shedding down her face. Gibbs was momentarily lost in his thoughts. Rich had just tried to call his earlier that day, the fire was just before sunrise. He had tried to call him so he couldn't be dead. He was rocked back to reality by Holly gasping for air around her tears. She was bent over the edge of Abby's desk, barely holding herself upright. Mentally kicking himself he immediately drew her into an embrace, cradling her under his chin. She was taller than he remembered, though it had been years since he had seen the family. He and Rich had such different schedules, between the agency and the firehouse; they only went out for a beer now and again. Not anymore.

Holly was bordering on hysterical, knees buckling under her. The information was not as new to her but hitting closer to home. Gibbs hushed her gently, sinking to the floor with her, his own face growing warm with emotion.

They sat there like that for how long, Gibbs didn't know. Holly's tears eventually turned to sniffles, and then to deep even breaths. By this time Gibbs' foot had gone numb from sitting in an awkward position, and the sun had resigned to setting quietly.

"Holly?" Gibbs asked quietly. He wasn't sure if he would rather she be awake or asleep. He didn't want to upset her anymore.

"Yes?" was the barely audible response he received. Now that she had answered he didn't know what to say. In his moment of thinking of what to do next, Holly shifted out of his arms and sat up by herself. She looked almost ashamed of herself, not meeting Gibbs' eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I didn't know where else to… I should go," she stumbled over her words, not trusting herself. She moved to get up, and Gibbs raised himself too, stiff limbs creaking at the movement. Sometimes he was entirely too aware of his age, which wasn't classified as young anymore. They stood there silently for a moment, and then Holly snapped her fingers at the giant dog, who had been sitting waiting patiently through the whole ordeal. He came to stand beside her, nosing and licking her hand. She seemed reassured by his presence and scratched his head, then turned to walk away, the strain from holding back more tears evident in her eyes.

"You drive here yourself?" Gibbs asked suddenly. He didn't want her driving in her emotional state. Losing one friend was enough for one day. She turned back to him, stopping.

"Yeah," she said unsteadily.

"Let me drive you home. Please," he added when he thought she might refuse. She nodded in agreement, waiting for his next request. He forgot her odd premonitional ways of knowing when someone wasn't done speaking.

"Wait for me at your car. I'll get someone to follow us with mine," he told her. Holly nodded again silently and left, this time heading for the stairs.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs voice was less than his usual bark, but Tony nearly jumped anyways. Kate and McGee had finished their closing work already, as had Tony, though he was always one to jump on top of another case while no one was looking. God forbid someone find out he actually had a relentless work ethic. He had no idea Gibbs was still there.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked readily. He looked at his boss standing just outside the bullpen. Gibbs stepped closer and Tony noted the unusually tender look in his eyes. Not one to admit to confusion, he sat waiting for Gibbs' command.

"Your car still in the shop?" Gibbs asked. A personal question from Gibbs, this was veering toward strange, but Tony played along.

"Yeah boss," he repeated, waiting again. Gibbs paused, uncertainty looking completely foreign, but written all over.

"You 'bout done?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah boss," Tony said a third time, now completely thrown.

"Follow me," he said gruffly, walking back toward the elevator. Tony scrambled to grab his things, shoving belongings into his backpack, running to catch the elevator just before it closed. He stood there, looking straight ahead, not wanting to question his superior. As it happened, he didn't have to. Gibbs held out his car key as the elevator opened back up, standing still a moment.

"I need you to follow me. I'm driving a friend home, out passed Warrenton. You up for it?" Gibbs asked. Tony was taken aback by the strange request, but was insatiably curious now. Gibbs was no doubt using that, and no doubt already regretting it.

"Sure thing boss," Tony answered confidently. Thinking to himself of the drive and who Gibbs could possibly be driving home in the middle of the night, an hour away no less.

They walked into the NCIS parking garage and Tony noticed a girl sitting on the back of a green Chevy pick-up, tailgate down, revealing a rather large St Bernard laying down in the bed. His curiosity spiked as they walked toward her. She was attractive, even with her pulled back messy hair and tear-streaked face, full of sadness. She reminded him of a modest version of Daisy Duke with her long brown hair, cutoff jeans, and open plaid shirt. She looked up from petting her dog. Slowly she hopped down from the tailgate, the giant dog following in a silent command. She turned her back to lift the tailgate up, gently pushing it into place. Gibbs was holding out his hand when she turned back around.

"Keys," he said firmly, but in a softer tone than he had ever used in front of Tony before. She handed them over obediently and, not glancing at Tony, turned to get in the passengers' side. She let the dog in first, and then climbed in after. Gibbs turned to Tony before getting in the truck. He didn't say anything, just gave him a look that told Tony everything he needed to know. This was no ordinary friend, this was family. And Gibbs took care of family. He turned and got in the truck, the door squeaking open, and shut the door.

Gibbs sensed Holly's guarded posture relax not long into the drive. It was a long way to go and they had been silent so far.

Holly was thinking about the man that was following them in Gibbs' car. He must have been one of Gibbs' team, but for the life of her she couldn't remember their names. She knew that two of them were fairly recent additions, but that one had worked with him for several years. This must have been the one. It was an Italian name she couldn't remember, not with everything else crammed in her head from today. Though it was a nice distraction from the tragedy that kept replaying in her head over and over again, like what had happened in her father's final moments, how she would tell the rest of her family, what arrangements would have to be made. She didn't remember her mother's death, she had only been eight.

The man was confident, she saw it in his walk, but he was also respectful, which was shown by the way he followed Gibbs, only a step behind, waiting for any orders his commanding officer might give him. Not military, but not without a knowledge of the customs. She pondered on what kind of day they had, remembering the product obviously used in his hair no longer holding a stray lock from curling over his forehead.

Boomer nudged her shoulder from the cab of the truck, reminding her of his presence. He was the best dog, and probably going to be her grounding rock in the following weeks. She reached up and scratched his chin soothingly, probably soothing herself more than the beast in the process.

"Who else have you talked to today?" Gibbs asked, breaking the silence. Holly had been so lost on her own thoughts, it took her a moment to process what Gibbs had said.

"What?" she asked, buying herself some time. Gibbs threw her a sideways glance.

"Who else have you talked to today?" he repeated patiently. She thought slowly, as if something in her mind was obstructing her from accessing her own memories.

"Um, the two guys from daddy's unit that came to the house… and Jonas. That's all." She didn't know who else to tell. She had a small family, and had just been cut down to a smaller one. Her mother had died when she was eight. Her brother had joined the Navy Seals and gone MIA three years ago. And his best friend, and her fiancé, had died in combat a year later, leaving her pregnant and alone with her father. Now it was just Holly and her daughter. Tears pushed themselves to the surface again. She had a distant uncle but didn't have any desire to contact him.

"Where is Lily?" Gibbs asked. Despite his gentle tone, Holly frowned.

"With Jonas, I can't tell her, not yet," she struggled to say defensively, gaining control of the tears that threatened again to spill. She took a shuddering breath and was displaying a sense of calm that did not betray her emotional state. Gibbs glanced at her again.

"Will you be okay tonight?" he asked. The question was really a different one, and she knew it. What he had really asked was 'Do you want me to stay?' and she didn't know her answer. She stayed silent again and Gibbs worried about her some more.


End file.
